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Some Divine Inspiration Came About

It was about 7:00 p.m. on a Friday. When I came back to the apartment with heart a full of happiness after the intensive session at Starbucks, Ramon was changing his clothes in order to sail on Fifth Avenue with full enchantment. As soon as he saw my fulfilled face, he piped up, “Hey bitch, how was your day? How many pages did you knock down today?”

“A good ten pages, my friend. It was an awesome experience. As you know, I am a very slow writer. I usually write only two or three pages a day, but I am content with a little progress, which I’ve made each day. However, suddenly, some divine inspiration came about, and I wrote page after page like a possessed. It’s actually a tremendous feeling to write like that. I am so happy, my friend!”

He was laughing. And he said, “Shogo, I’ve told you many times that Playa Del Carmen is good for you because here are a lot of tourists, so you can speak English. Besides, here are many sexy women, the fresh climate, the warm weather, the incredible blue sky, beautiful beaches, the calm ocean, and so on and so forth. Here you can relax and feel peaceful, which makes you stimulated to write. I’ve always told you: the beginning of writing is the most difficult thing for you, but if you can clear that stage, you’ll knock down a number of books. I am very proud of you, bitch!”

I could not help smiling.

He suddenly asked, “What did you eat for lunch today?”

“I’ve found a cheap pizza shop on Fifth Avenue and usually eat there.”

“How much?”

“Thirty pesos for two slices of pizza and coke.”

Pause.

“It’s not expensive, I see. I know you are busy writing right now. But why don’t you try to take a break at 2:00 p.m. every day and come back to the apartment to eat lunch with us? I always come back here to eat lunch around 2:00 p.m. I’ve been thinking that if you want to stay here to complete your book without taking a job, you should spend money as little as possible. You’d better start considering about the cheapest way to dispense with the daily expenses. Just consider what I’ve said, okay, bitch?”

He is always generous to me and always ruminates about my situation, as if my life were better than anything else and more important than his own life. He earnestly wants to help me to succeed in completing my book and eagerly wants to see me be recognized as a writer as soon as possible. He has never changed since I met him the first time: All in all, he has been a great friend to me.